Review: New York Pops Celebrate NY's Own Lin-Manuel Miranda at Carnegie Hall

The air crackled with electric energy inside the famed Carnegie Hall on Friday November 21 with its celebration of hometown musical theater icon, Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Broadway’s musical theater darling, Mandy Gonzalez joyfully led the tribute with the evening’s performance aptly dubbed Everything I Know: Mandy Gonzalez Sings Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The effervescent New York Pops, conducted by Musical Director Steven Reineke, started the evening with a Lin Manuel-Miranda overture.  Oozing that old Broadway elegance and glamour in an opulent gold strapless gown with a brocaded pattern, Mandy Gonzalez joyfully strode to the stage.  The petite powerhouse wowed the filled-to-capacity crowd with the vocals that can and do reverberate around the walls of the historic venue as she began with the Miranda hit “One of a Kind” from Vivo.  Through her rendition of “Spanish Me, English Me,” a song Miranda wrote for, believe it or not, Sesame Street, Gonzalez quickly divulged some tidbits about her background as the California-born child of a Jewish mother and a Mexican father who met as penpals when her father served overseas in Vietnam.  Like Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was born in New York City and summered with grandparents in Puerto Rico, California native Gonzalez had supportive grandparents, albeit from two very different cultures.  She spoke of her Jewish “Bubbe” who took her and her brother to a dinner club in Los Angeles and wound up finding a singer teacher for a young Mandy in the performer.

A dynamic musical singer with impressive vocals, Mandy Gonzalez portrayed to theatergoers her incredible singing talent!  Singing “Part of Your World” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Miranda wrote lyrics to three additional songs to the 2023 live action adaptation of the animated film), Gonzalez hit those high notes with ease.   

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s famed show, In The Heights, was one of the first productions to bring Mandy Gonzalez to stardom on Broadway.  She recalled how she met him in the basement of the Drama Bookshop to see the script and the rest as they say was history.  Gonzalez reprised her song, “Breathe” from that show to much applause!  A moving description of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s intense loyalty to his heritage was portrayed through a mash up of “Preciosa / Almost Like Praying,” which used the historic patriotic composition of Rafael Hernandez Marin from 1937 fused with a new song by Miranda sampling Sondheim's "Maria". Miranda used this as a “prayer, promise and call to action” to support the suffering of Puerto Rico from the 2017 Hurricane Maria. Guest singer and fellow Broadway veteran Phillipe Arroyo joined Gonzalez onstage, clad in a gray suit and brown shirt.  Together they belted the hits of a rousing compilation from Hamilton, dubbed "The Hamilton Suite” as it roared into Carnegie Hall.  Ironically, the stupendous hip-hop musical Broadway hit inked by Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspired while on vacation based upon a book on Alexander Hamilton he was reading.  Very interesting!  

Post intermission, Mandy Gonzalez reemerged, now wearing a stunning purple flowing strapless gown with gold appliques.  Jumping right into “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto, she showcased that belting voice once again.  Another guest singer, Christopher Jackson, of the original Broadway cast of In The Heights and Hamilton gave a surprise performance to the delight of the audience, which included Lin-Manuel Miranda and his family.  Suavely attired in a brown velvet dinner jacket and tuxedo pants, Jackson and Gonzalez proceeded to shake the walls with their duets of some of Miranda’s personal pop/rock favorites including “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie, “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper and even a tribute to the rock group, Heart.  This reviewer was applauding wildly with the rest of the theatergoers.  A final performance of Kander and Ebb’s 1977 “New York, New York” combined with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s addition to it of “Cheering For Me Now” was the piece de resistance to complete the evening!  The unofficial New York anthem was absolutely representative of New York’s native son, Lin-Manuel Miranda.  This reviewer says well done to a fellow Washington Heights born New Yorker and the amazing artist that he is!

An Encore presented Mandy Gonzalez’s personal passion as a founder of a #FearlessSquad - which is a social media movement created to create inclusiveness and positivity and an author of young adult books also called FEARLESS.  Accompanied by R.Evolucion Latina Community Choir (Heather Hogan, Director) and the Susan E. Wagner High School Concert Chorus ( Keith Waage, Director)  she presented her debut album song, “Fearless.”  Bravo! Bravo! What a truly fantastic evening this was!  

Everything I Know: Mandy Gonzalez Sings Lin-Manuel Miranda featured the sensational New York Pops, Musical Director and Conductor, Steven Reineke, Guest artist, Mandy Gonzalez, Special Guests, Philipe Arroyo and Christopher Jackson, Dan Lipton, piano and musical director for Mandy Gonzalez, the R.Evolucion Latina Community Choir, and the Susan Wagner High School Concert Chorus.

The Pops return to Carnegie Hall next month with a special concert featuring Megan Hilty. Find tickets to that and more great shows to see on the New York Pops website here